February 25, 2009
Southwest Minnesota State 67 Wayne State 62
Southwest Minnesota State earned a 67-62 win over Wayne State in NSIC women's basketball on Wednesday evening in Wayne. After leading for much of the game, Southwest Minnesota State had to rally late to defeat the Wildcats in the final home game of the season for WSC. The Mustangs moved to 13-16 overall and 5-14 in the NSIC with the win while Wayne State dropped to 14-12 overall and 11-8 in the NSIC with the loss.
SMSU jumped out to an early 7-0 lead and led by as many as 16 in the opening half of play. The Mustangs hit 6 of 9 three point attempts in the first 20 minutes and settled for a 35-27 halftime lead. The game remained close throughout the second half. Wayne State took its first lead of the game (54-52) with just over five minutes remaining on a layup by Laquisha Cook. After SMSU responded to take a 59-58 lead, Wayne State took its final lead of the game (60-59) with just over two minutes remaining on a layup by Alyssa Fischbach. From there, the Mustangs finished the game on an 8-2 run using solid rebounding and free throw shooting down the stretch to secure the 67-62 win. There were seven ties and eight lead changes in the second half.
Wayne State hit 19 of 55 shots in the game for 34.5 percent. The 'Cats were 22 of 28 at the free throw line (78.6%) but hit just 2 of 14 three point attempts on the night. Wayne State held a 42-36 rebounding advantage in the game. WSC had 12 turnovers compared to 11 for SMSU. Mara Hjelle had 16 points and 11 rebounds, her third double-double of the season, to lead Wayne State in the loss. Laquisha Cook added 13 points for the 'Cats. SMSU hit 22 of 61 shots in the game for 36.1 percent. The Mustangs hit 7 of 14 three point attempts and went 16 of 19 at the free throw line (84.2%) in the win. Laura Kramer scored 16 points and pulled down a team-high eight rebounds to lead SMSU. Sara Leidall had 15 points and Tori Fink added 10 points for the Mustangs.
Wayne State will conclude the regular season at Bemidji State on Saturday evening. The game is set for 6:00 p.m. in Bemidji, Minnesota.
